Should States Charge Low-Income Residents Less for Traffic Tickets?
“In California, increased attention on how this punishment disproportionately affects low-income residents has led lawmakers there to consider mitigating penalties, starting with a bill now working its way through the state Senate. Indeed, when it comes to low-income Californians, revoking licenses would seem to do more to keep them in a cycle of poverty than encourage them to pay debts they cannot afford. Yet lawmakers are finding that disentangling this revenue from the state’s spending is complicated, as the bill’s opponents argue it funds valuable initiatives. Proponents of reform argue that issuing steep fines and fees for minor infractions isn’t good fiscal policy, beyond what they see as inherent ethical concerns. Last year, Californians owed the state $9.7 billion in traffic debt. As a recent budget summary from Governor Jerry Brown notes: ‘There does not appear to be a strong connection between suspending someone’s [driver’s] license and collecting their fine or penalty.’ In Harry’s case, the state never did get her money: On a tip from a debt collector, she found her way to a grant-funded community court that helps low-income residents take care of tickets. A judge there appeared to find her case credible—that she’d had proof of insurance in her car during the traffic stop—and ruled that Harry didn’t have to pay the debt and reinstated her license.”